SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Magnolia Longworth is 16 and she’s not afraid of anything. Not homophobic slurs, not death threats, not the judgment of an often unfeeling world.
Longworth, a junior at South Kingstown High School, and her friend, Evan Travis, a sophomore, have organized the first PRIDE event in South Kingstown, which will kick off with a car parade in Wakefield at 3 p.m. Thursday, followed by a march from Wakefield Elementary School to Main Street and a short speaking program.
More than 200 people have expressed interest in attending the event, which will include food vendors, family activities and entertainment. The event is co-sponsored by the Collective, a nonprofit activist organization, and the Wakefield Village Association.
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Longworth, who identifies as bisexual, came out in eighth grade. Her parents were nothing but supportive, which may account for her courage today.
“I always thought I was weird, that no one would ever love me,” she said Wednesday. “My parents told me, ‘If you’re gay, we love you, no matter what.’ They’re so proud of me.”
At the time, her little brother Henry (who is now 12) asked her, “So you like girls?” and Magnolia said, “Yes,” and he said, “I like girls, too.”
“I remember growing up I had a gay cousin who was always voicing his opinions on gay rights,” she said. “He inspired me. I wanted the world to change and everyone to be who they are.”
While Magnolia had unqualified support at home, it wasn’t always the case in the outside world. She has been harassed and taunted at school, although she said the high school has become more gay friendly in recent years.
She remembers holding hands with a girl while walking home and having teenagers taunt her and call her homophobic names.
“I definitely think we need PRIDE to show the community that we are here, that you can’t use that against us. We take pride in being gay.”
Still, Magnolia was unprepared for the hateful comments posted to a town Facebook page while she was promoting the PRIDE event.
“I was facing death threats from adults,” she said. “They were saying that gays should go to hell and that I’m confused about my sexuality. I’m turning 17 next week and grown adults are yelling at me. I was terrified to go on Facebook. I was really scared.”
But she didn’t back down and the administrator for the page took down the comments.
“I think the one thing I learned from this experience was I’m not ashamed of who I am,” Magnolia said. “I have an entire community backing me up. There is more love than hate.“
Magnolia’s mother, Terri Longworth, said her daughter has been a fighter since she was young.
“She has never hesitated to do the right thing, to stand up and protect people,” Longworth said.
In eighth grade, Magnolia received the Gandhi Award from the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Non-Violence. She was honored because she collected a ton of food for the Johnnycake food pantry in South Kingstown.
“I do want to say Evan had a big part in this event,” Longworth said. “I am super proud of her. Even through the hate, she never let it bring her down.”
Linda Borg covers education for The Journal.
